A3, A4, what's in a name? It's only one digit out; there can't be that much difference.I recently tested an Audi A3 2.0T s-line, and I was quite impressed with
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| (Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com) |
the car. When I delivered it back they handed me the keys to an A4 3.2 s-line. It was exactly the same color, white, lovely! It had pretty much the same overall look as its little brother the A3, and I thought to myself "what's the point, how much difference can there be besides maybe a tad more space and a little extra oomph"? Well, it appears that I had jumped the gun somewhat, and was about to learn, just what a difference a name makes.From the outside, sitting in the car park, they do look quite similar. In fact, as I approached the two of them, my mind started thinking of ways to photograph the A4 to differentiate it from the A3 pictures that I had recently taken.The wheels of the A4 were more dramatic, colored in a nice titanium grey, which certainly added to the overall look of the vehicle. In fact, they give the car an almost "race-prepped" appearance. One could almost imagine it sitting on pit lane with a team of eager technicians poised to pounce. The rear of the A4 has a slightly more station wagon look to it and was
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| (Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com) |
obviously designed to be more of a load hauler. Then there was the white painted roof which had replaced the glass panels of my previous ride. So fair enough, there are a few minor differences in appearance from the outside.Now we come to the interior and straight away, you start to realize that this is a step or two above the A3. The dashboard layout has the familiar Audi look to it, yet it appears considerably more up-market and refined. The dashboard has been nicely dressed up with piano black wood accents and a GPS navigation system.The leather seats are typical Audi. They are good looking, comfortable, yet sporty and form hugging at the same time. Although the A4 could not be described as a large vehicle, there is plenty of elbow room which allows for a feeling of space, yet at the same time, a sense of being personally part of the cockpit. Sitting inside the vehicle, it feels like a "true driver's car" and so that's where we're heading now.The power from the 255 hp 3.2 litre V6 is amazing, when coupled to a slick six speed manual gearbox. It is fun with a capital F! It is not often that I get excited about a wagon, even if it is sports styled, but the A4 s-line is a totally different machine. It has all the looks of a "race-prepped sports wagon", and I can personally testify that it draws
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| (Photo: Kevin Corrigan, Auto123.com) |
plenty of attention around town. Then we come to my favorite part of all, the handling. Together with Audi's famed Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the s-line package adds a sports suspension setup. To me, this car is quite a well balanced vehicle for its size and so when y ou put all this together, what you get is a vehicle that excels at being driven hard.